The White House

Podcast Transcript

Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC, is the home of the president of the United States.

The idea of a home for the president dates back to the very first president, and ever since the second president, every single one has lived in the same house while they were in office.

While the house appears to be the same as the one built in the late 18th century, the interior has been radically transformed over the years.

Learn more about the White House, how and why it was built and how it has changed over time on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

The White House is more than just the home of the President of the United States. For better or worse, it is a symbol of American democracy and power.

Yet, despite its functional role as a house and its power as a symbol, the White House is fundamentally a building. A building with a very rich history that would surprise most people, including most Americans.

It is arguably one of, if not the most important, buildings in the United States, not only for its history but also for its significance.

The idea of residence for the president can be traced back to the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution gave Congress the authority to create a federal district to serve as the capital.

Where this district would be and what it would look like was still up in the air, but they at least agreed, in principle, that such a district should be created and that it would be the seat of all three branches of government.

When George Washington became president in 1889, he and his wife lived at the home owned by Treasure official Samuel Osgood. In 1790, he moved to the Alexander Macomb House on Broadway from February to August.

In May 1790, a new building called Government House began construction, but Washington never lived there as the capital was moved to Philadelphia later that year.

In Philadelphia, the government rented the home of Robert Morris, a founding father who signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution.

The house was located at 190 High Street, now 524 to 530 Market Street in Philadelphia, just a block north of Independence Hall.

Washington expanded the house to accommodate the presidential entourage, and he lived there for the rest of his presidency through March of 1797.

John Adams lived there until 1800.

In 1790, the first congress had to address the clause in the Constitution calling for a federal district.

They passed the Residence Act of 1790, or its more formal name, An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States.

The Act granted President George Washington the authority to select the exact site within a 100-square-mile area. It also provided for the construction of federal buildings, including the Capitol and the President’s House.

There was much debate surrounding exactly what the House of the President should be. The debates reflected the tension between Republican simplicity and the need for grandeur.

Some leaders, including Thomas Jefferson, favored a modest structure, while others argued for a more imposing residence to convey the prestige of the presidency.

These debates were a microcosm of the debates surrounding the direction of the young country.

In 1791, Pierre Charles L’Enfant, a French-born engineer who George Washington hired to design the federal city, began to work on a plan that incorporated a space for the “President’s House” in his vision for Washington, D.C.

In 1792, a public competition was announced to select the design for the President’s House. Applicants were encouraged to create a structure that balanced elegance with functionality, reflecting the ideals of the new republic.

Irish-born architect James Hoban won the competition with a design inspired by Leinster House, a government building in Dublin, Ireland. Hoban’s design combined neoclassical elements, such as symmetry, columns, and pediments, with a dignified simplicity.

If you look at photos of Leinster House, you can kind of see the resemblance, but it is far from a simple cut and paste of the design.

The cornerstone of the President’s House was laid on October 13, 1792, marking the start of construction.

Enslaved laborers, free African Americans, European immigrants, and local workers were employed in the construction. Both Maryland and Virginia, the states where land was taken to create the Federal District, were slave states.

The exterior walls of the building were made out of sandstone sourced from Aquia Creek in Virginia.

The sandstone walls were painted white to protect them from weathering and were lined inside with cheaper brick.

The house was completed in 1800, costing $232,372 or approximately $5 million today, adjusted for inflation. After completion there was still significant internal work that was being done.

The first president to occupy the building was John Adams, who moved in during the last months of his administration.

There is a great scene in the HBO miniseries John Adams where Adams is in the building, and there is basically nothing inside.

Thomas Jefferson was the first president to live in the house full-time, and he did so for the full eight years of his administration.

During this period, the building was not known as the White House. It was referred to as the President’s Palace, Presidential Mansion, or President’s House.

The first use of the term “White House” in print was in 1811, but the building was formally referred to in all official documents as simply the Executive Mansion.

One of the most famous episodes in the White House’s history took place on August 24, 1814. During the War of 1812, British forces set the White House ablaze, leaving only the exterior walls standing. First Lady Dolley Madison famously saved a portrait of George Washington before fleeing.

After the fire, the original architect, James Hoban, returned to supervise the rebuilding. The White House was ready for President James Monroe in 1817, though the South Portico was added in 1824 and the North Portico in 1829.

Andrew Jackson’s inaugural party at the White House on March 4, 1829, became one of the most chaotic and infamous events in its history.

After his swearing-in, Jackson invited the public to celebrate, and thousands of ordinary citizens flooded the White House grounds and interior. The jubilant crowd, many of whom were Jackson supporters from the frontier, overwhelmed the space, climbing on furniture, tracking mud through the rooms, and even breaking items like china and glassware.

To manage the chaos, White House staff strategically placed tubs of punch on the lawn to lure the crowd outside.

Throughout the 19th century, presidents adapted the building to their needs.

The East Room, used for receptions and ceremonies, became a focus of renovations.

Gas lighting was introduced during the 1840s, and central heating followed in the 1850s.

During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln used the White House as a command center. He signed the Emancipation Proclamation in his office in the White House.

Changes to the house were rather minor throughout the rest of the 19th century.

However, it should be noted that in 1881, President Chester Arthur hired famed decorator Louis Comfort Tiffany to reimagine the interiors. Tiffany introduced vibrant stained-glass windows, including a grand screen in the Entrance Hall, and modernized the decor with elaborate Victorian styles.

In total, over twenty wagonloads of furniture and household items were taken out and sold at auction to fund the renovation.

The next major change took place in 1902 during the Theodore Roosevelt administration.

Roosevelt’s 1902 renovations of the White House were transformative, reshaping it into the modern executive residence known today. To accommodate his large family and the growing demands of the presidency, Roosevelt hired architect Charles McKim to overhaul the building. McKim removed the Victorian-era decorations added during earlier administrations, returning the White House to a more classical and stately style.

The West Wing was constructed to separate the president’s offices from the family’s living quarters, marking a pivotal shift in how the building was used. The State Dining Room was enlarged, and new furniture and fixtures were installed to reflect a simpler yet dignified design.

Here, I should address some confusion that might arise about the White House. The West Wing is not part of the original building and the iconic image you see in most photos. It is a separate building connected to the main building.

If you see an aerial photo of the White House, you can clearly see the wings on either side of the main, original building. This is why there are public tours of the White House; it isn’t where the president or any of his staff actually work.

It was also during the Roosevelt administration that the building began to be formally referred to as the White House, not the Executive Mansion.

President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing in 1909, adding what is today the most famous room in the White House, the Oval Office.

In 1941, a 761 foot tunnel was constructed between the White House and the Treasury Building. It was designed as a secure passageway to provide the president and key personnel with a safe evacuation route to the secure vaults in the treasury building in the event of an emergency.

As far as is known, this is the only tunnel connecting the White House to any other building in Washington. However, there have been rumors of tunnels being built to allow the President and the First Family the ability to escape or evacuate the White House if necessary.

The most extensive renovation in the history of the White House took place during the administration of Harry Truman.

By the late 1940s, the White House was found to be on the brink of collapse, with sagging floors and deteriorating walls. Truman ordered the entire interior to be gutted and rebuilt with a steel frame while preserving the original sandstone exterior.

During this renovation, a substantial subbasement to the building.

There are photos you can see online showing the interior of the White House during this period and it is quite remarkable. Everything was removed save for the walls.

The renovation included modern updates like central air conditioning, improved heating and plumbing systems, and a bomb shelter to address Cold War concerns.

When completed, the White House maintained its historic appearance while being structurally reinforced and technologically modernized, ensuring its longevity as the president’s residence and workplace.

The White House Situation Room was created during the Kennedy administration in 1961, following the Bay of Pigs invasion. President Kennedy recognized the need for a secure, centralized location for managing real-time intelligence and crises, as communication delays had hampered decision-making during the incident.

The Situation Room was established in the basement of the West Wing. It was equipped with advanced technology for its time, including secure communications and real-time data feeds, allowing the president and advisors to monitor and respond effectively to global events.

The latter half of the 20th century saw continual improvements in communications technology deployed in the White House.

Each president has made some sort of lasting impression on the building. Richard Nixon installed a bowling alley. Jimmy Carter installed solar water heating panels, which Ronald Reagan removed but brought back by George W. Bush.

The modern White House is a very odd mix. On the one hand, it is a museum. In 1961, Congress declared it to be a museum which means that the president can no longer just sell furniture or artifacts like they did in the past.

Likewise, any changes to staterooms must be approved by the Committee for the Preservation of the White House. The first family, however, can change the personal family rooms in the building at their discretion.

Because of its museum status, there have been no major changes to the interior since the Truman renovations.

The museum, however, is limited to the central residential part of the building.

The East and West Wing are not considered a museum and are functioning work areas for the president and his staff.

Beneath the White House is a bunker for use in an emergency. The bunker was originally built below the East Wing during World War II.

On 9/11, the First Family was evacuated there, and in the aftermath, it was realized that the bunker was inadequate.

Supposedly (and I have to say supposedly because the entire process was kept secret), a modern bunker was installed beneath the north lawn of the White House starting in 2010 during the Obama administration.

It is staffed by the White House Military Office, which is an actual military detail.

Most details about the bunker are classified, but many experts have guessed that it would have to be at least 1000 feet deep to avoid direct impact by a nuclear explosion.

Before I close, I’d like to note that if you search for the address of the White House on Zillow…..there is actually an entry for it.

It lists it as a 16-bedroom, 35-bathroom, 55,000-square-foot home with an estimated value of $353,634,200. Unfortunately, the property is currently off the market.

The White House, a living museum and functioning government building, continues to evolve while honoring its storied past. It is not just the home of the president but a symbol of the nation’s history and ideals.